The distinctive production style of Rodgers was responsible for hits by Diana Ross, David Bowie, Sister Sledge, Duran Duran, Grace Jones and many more.

Rodgers, a composer, arranger, guitarist and producer describes his humble beginnings in New York City before the dawn of Chic. Readers of this autobiography will enjoy the special Nile anecdotes from various studio sessions.

Chic was a dynamic force, driven by the unique style of Rodgers and Edwards (on bass). They don’t receive enough credit for their innovation. Chic is often stereotyped in perception by attributing the blandness of the disco era to the group. Many negate Chic’s best work by lumping it in with the mediocre robotic melodies of disco’s heyday.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Donna Summer Remembered

LaDonna Adrian Gaines was born on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1948. She grew up in Boston with her parents and two sisters. By the time she was 12, she was singing Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick songs.

On her approach to singing as an adult, Donna says in her autobiography “to this day I will approach a song as an actress approaches a script. I do not sing; I act. When I sing, I sing with the voice of the character in the song."

With this in mind, one can be somewhat forgiving when reflecting on “Love To Love You Baby,” Donna’s over the top exercise in heavy breathing that was a big 1975 disco smash. Donna Summer passed away on May 17, 2012. Read our review of her autobiography “Donna Summer: Ordinary Girl”

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Dionne Warwick Opens Her Soul in My Life as I See It

Dionne Warwick says in her new autobiography, My Life As I See It, released in November, 2010, that a typo misprint on her first single “Don’t Make Me Over” changed her surname from Warrick to Warwick.

When her astrologer created a numerological chart in the 1970’s, the astrologer suggested adding an “e” to Warwick to create “stronger vibrations."

As Dionne says, “that meant every contract, advertisement, and record cover had to reflect the change."

She explains that record sales dipped, so “I went about getting it taken off all contracts, marquees, and future album covers."

My Life As I See It is a very enjoyable read, as Dionne covers every aspect of her life.

Her grandfather was a minister. She reflects on how people describe her vocal style as “classical or pop, but gospel has been and always will be first and foremost in my world of music."

Dionne Warwick finally released her first gospel album in 2008, Why We Sing. She credits gospel with making her a better pop singer.

Here is an artist who spans the decades from the early 1960’s to now. She began as a demo track and background singer in New York City, commuting from her home state of New Jersey.

When her solo career took off (propelled by songs created by the Hal David - Burt Bacharach writing team), she hit the road to tour. Dionne’s stories about experiencing 1963 “Jim Crow” racism travelling through the South echo what my other artists in the early 1960’s endured.

Apart from her own talent, Ms. Warwick has glorious singing family connections, including her late sister Dee Dee, aunt Cissy Houston, Cousin Whitney Houston, and cousin Leontyne Price.

Excellence takes hard work, and Dionne was no slouch. She took piano lessons every week from age six until her early twenties.

When those singers she respected played within a 100 miles radius of one of her performances, she would go to their shows (Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll, Sammy Davis Jr.), etc., with a legal pad, ask to be seated in the rear of the room with a direct line of sight to the stage, and take notes about every relevant detail of the performance.

She has real bachelor and master’s degrees in music.

Dionne speaks frankly about whether her style is black enough.

She says receiving the Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Award in 2003 was satisfying “to be honored by a sector of the industry that never thought of me as an R&B singer."

"My crossover appeal was one of the factors in my success. My music was played on African American stations as well as white radio stations."

"Ironically, my crossover success in pop prompted something that came as a big surprise: the decline of airplay for my records on African American radio."

When the top New York City R&B station WWRL held off adding “Alfie” to their playlist, Warwick recalls that when the song reached number one (and was finally added by the station), she telephoned into dj Rocky G. while he was playing the song and asked “Why are you playing that white girl’s record?"

G. answered, “That is no white girl, and who is this?” Dionne’s reply: “This is the one you told was too white to play on your show, This is Dionne.” The two laughed about that incident for many years to come.

This anecdote reveals the professional aggressiveness that pushes Dionne Warwick forward through a ground breaking career of many firsts.

1968 - First African American since Ella Fitzgerald to win Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Grammy.

1979 - First female solo artist to win Grammy awards in pop & R&B in the same year.

In the 1980’s she was one of the first artists to develop a fragrance, “Dionne.”

1980 - 1988. She is one of the first African American females to host a music variety television program (season one and season five) of Solid Gold.

Say a Little Prayer, her first children’s book, was published in 2008.

You get the sense that Dionne Warwick has clear values with focus, a factor that has contributed to her success.

She talks about embracing collaborations with Barry Manilow leading to the massive hits “Deja Vu” and “I’ll Never Love This Way Again,” but being highly fearful about the “Heartbreaker” song project with the Bee Gees.

Dionne explains about several Bee Gees member Barry Gibb songs presented to her: “one I thought was just not me was “Heartbreaker.” “I did not like it."

Finally giving in to producer Gibb, Ms. Warwick adds “needless to say, I was wrong, and he was right. “Heartbreaker became one of my biggest international hits to date."

I’ll close with this Warwick - Mary J. Blige encounter, which gives you further incite into ‘the soul of Dionne.’

In the 1990’s, Warwick participated in organizing talent for a show Celebrate the Soul of American Music.

This program gave her the opportunity “to meet Mary J. Blige. “She was “rough” around the edges at the beginning of her career. But she was an important part of the new sounds that were defining rap and hip-hop."

"Why she had been asked to do this show, I don’t know, because the Stellar Awards honors the gospel community. But there she was, showing up to rehearse in her fatigues and combat boots."

"When the dress rehearsal for cameras was about to begin, most artists brought out what they would be wearing to show the colors. Ms. Blige was still in fatigues and combat boots."

"I asked if she would bring out what she intended to wear on the show. In not such a ladylike way, she let me know that she had on what she was going to wear."

"I had to say that what she had on was not appropriate for the show."

"I told her I could send one of the stylists out to get her something. But, without missing a beat, she again let me know in no uncertain terms that she was wearing what she had on."

"I then said she would have to wear that somewhere else, because she was no longer on the show."

"I ran into her again a few years later at the inaugural ground-breaking ceremony of the Magic Johnson Theatres in Harlem and I almost didn’t recognize her."

"She was beautifully dressed to the nines."

"She approached me and asked if I remembered her, and I said I did. She thanked me for opening her eyes to the reality of who she should be and now was."

"Watching her become someone to respect within her community of young entertainers has been great."

"She is now the epitome of positive imagery and high self-esteem."

"She has fought the battle with negativity and won the war. Thank you, Mary J. Blige, for being."

And thank you Dionne Warwick, for an eye-opening book, an amazing career, and your trailblazing pioneer efforts since the early 1960’s.

Watch and listen to Dionne Warwick’s live performance of “Alfie,” from 1993 in Brazil.

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Roberta Flack Keeps Her Song Soft and Mellow

Always the master of timeless R&B, Roberta Flack continues to serenade audiences with her elegant mixture of toned down pop, soul, and jazz.

Roberta’s official biography tells the story...

"Classically trained on the piano from an early age, Ms. Flack received a music scholarship at age 15 to attend Howard University."

"She was “discovered while singing at the Washington, DC nightclub Mr. Henry’s by musician Les McCann, and promptly signed to Atlantic Records resulting in the release of a string of big Roberta Flack hits."

An interpretive album of Beatles’ classics is occupying lots of Roberta’s time, even as she sings to audiences during her 2010 tour.

Her Roberta Flack School of Music at the Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx, New York, provides inspiring music education to underprivileged students free of charge.

If you have always been confused about what Stevie Wonder’s real name is, here is a brief excerpt from Signed, Sealed, and Delivered that explores this topic:

There’s so much in this story that I haven’t even scratched the surface, so next time, we’ll get to Ribowsky’s narration about Stevie Wonder’s wild days at Motown when he began producing memorable music.

Thursday, April 08, 2010

The Delfonics Debut Harmonic Philly Soul

The Delfonics set the stage for the Stylistics, the O’Jays, and the eventual parade of other future smooth Philly-soul vocal groups.

The sound of the Delfonics was not the funky sound of Motown, Stax, Memphis, or Chicago.

Producer Thom Bell enhanced what the Delfonics created to eventually popularize this style of quiet storm R&B.

Philadelphia’s original Delfonics: Wilbert Hart, William Hart, and Randy Cain first recorded for the Cameo Parkway label. Thom Bell would grab them for his Philly Groove label, releasing “La La Means I Love You” in 1968.

In the period between these 2 groups, the explosive solo career path of Jackie Wilson paved the way for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

As a 16 year old amateur Golden Gloves welterweight boxing champion in 1950, Sonny Wilson pretended to be 18 to qualify for the sport.

Luckily for the music world, Sonny Wilson would abandon boxing to thankfully morph into Jackie Wilson and launch his singing career just one year later.

By 1960, vocal sensation Jackie would break the one week attendance record at the Apollo Theater in New York City.

He lived with a bullet in his stomach that could not be removed, the result of a 1961 encounter with a Juanita Jones, a female fan, who shot him in his New York City apartment.

There would be more tragedy for Jackie, as he suffered a 1975 heart attack on stage in the Philadelphia area while singing his classic “Lonely Teardrops” at the Latin Casino dinner theater in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

With 47 songs on the R&B charts, and at least 54 in the top 100 pop singles chart, Jackie Wilson’s 17-year-plus solo career is the stuff of legends.

His voice sends chills up and down your spine. Just listen to “Baby Workout” if you have any doubts.

Jackie Wilson died on January 21, 1984. His music lives on for new generations to enjoy.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

George Benson Releases Songs and Stories

George Benson likes to throw rigid music categories out the window when he describes himself as “an entertainer” at heart.

During his successful career, George has repeatedly walked across ‘genre street’ bridging jazz, classic soul, and straight ahead R&B.

The new George Benson album, Songs and Stories, scheduled for an October 2009 release, leans toward the pop mainstream with tracks written by among others James Taylor, Smokey Robinson, Lamont Dozier, Bill Withers, and Donny Hathaway.

In reading through the official George Benson biography on his website, it’s clear that he has paid his dues excelling in a variety of award winning roles as both a guitarist and vocalist.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The Gap Band Keep the Party Train on Track

The legendary Gap Band of brothers honed the art of funk to a science with a truly unique approach to their groove grinding R&B.

These photos are from Gap Band VI.

Let’s reveal much more about this trio who hail from the USA heartland by spotlighting some highlights from The Gap Band’s official biography...

"One of the most influential groups in the history of classic soul, Charlie and his brothers, Ronnie and Robert Wilson, made themselves famous with their non-stop humorous funk grooves.

The sons of a Pentecostal minister, the Wilson brothers started performing in 1967 when they formed a group along with Tuck Andress of Tuck and Patti Fame.

The GAP Band, named after the black business hub of their native Tulsa, Oklahoma (Greenwood, Archer, Pine Streets), became the band of choice for visiting musicians.

“We used to be called the Greenwood Archer Pine Street Band,” Charlie explains, “but that was a bit too much to put on posters, so we abbreviated it to G.A.P. Band.

Then once, through a typographical error, the periods disappeared and out popped the GAP Band.”

During the band’s early career they opened for major hit bands like The Rolling Stones, and supported J.J. Cale, Willie Nelson, D.J. Rogers, and Leon Russell.

In the 80’s, Charlie toured with Annie Lennox and the Eurythmics. The GAP Band has always been a touring powerhouse, known for their high energy, groove thumpin, party-like set.

Throughout their career they have performed with an eclectic set of artists including Frankie Beverly and Maze, The Isley Brothers, R. Kelly, Mary J. Blige, L.L. Cool J, Destiny’s Child, Ashanti, Ja Rule, and Dru Hill.

From the late 70’s to early 80’s the band dominated the R&B charts with their hard driving funk grooves. Four of the band’s nine albums went platinum..."

The Gap Band II

The Gap Band III

The Gap Band IV

Gap Band V - Jammin)

Gap Band hits include:

“You Dropped a Bomb on Me”

“Party Train”

“Burn Rubber”

“Outstanding”

“Oops Upside Your Head”

“Early in the Morning”

“Yearning for Your Love”

“Outstanding”

Charlie Wilson continues to support his own solo career, and will be performing on the following dates: